How Birds Live Together
Colonies and Communities in the Avian World
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Princeton University Press
Published:10th May '22
Should be back in stock very soon
This beautifully illustrated book explores avian social structures, detailing various bird colonies and their unique living arrangements. It highlights the benefits and challenges of communal living among different species.
In How Birds Live Together, author Marianne Taylor presents a beautifully illustrated examination of avian social structures and the various ways birds coexist in their environments. The book showcases a wide range of bird colonies and communities, offering readers insight into the fascinating dynamics of social living among different species. Taylor's engaging narrative covers everything from long-standing seabird colonies that have utilized the same nesting cliffs for generations to the rapidly changing formations of flocks.
The book delves into the advantages of social living for birds, exploring how these communal arrangements can enhance breeding success and provide protection from predators. Taylor categorizes various types of bird colonies, detailing those that build single-family nests in close proximity within trees, as well as species that share large, communal nests. She also highlights birds that inhabit tunnels, those that nest in exposed areas and defend their territory collectively, and species that adapt to urban environments, living on human-made structures.
Through vivid photographs, maps, and informative graphics, How Birds Live Together not only illustrates the beauty of avian sociality but also addresses the challenges and benefits that come with different living arrangements. By featuring diverse examples from locations such as the rugged coastlines of Scotland, the lush Everglades, and the arid Namib Desert, Taylor provides bird enthusiasts with a comprehensive understanding of the complexities and wonders of bird communities around the world.
"Birdwatching Magazine's Book of the Month"
"A Birdwatcher's Yearbook Best Bird Book of the Year"
"A quirky, eclectic and informative mix about birds from all compass directions."---Phil Slade, Another Bird Blog
"An educational and entertaining read."---Eric Brown, News Shopper
"Dive into this entertaining and informative book and you will leave with more knowledge than you entered it."---Bo Beolens, Fat Birder
"This is a book you will want to read cover to cover."---Geoff Carpentier, North Durham Nature Newsletter
"A very interesting book, packed with information, well set out with lovely pictures, and I learned a lot more about how birds live together. A thoroughly recommended book."---Neville Davies, Gwent Wildlife Trust
"The author, Marianne Taylor, has clearly done extensive research and showcases colonies from around the world . . . . The chapters are very readable and it is easy to pick up the narrative where you left off, making it accessible for someone entering into the world of colony birds."---Gill Birtles, British Trust for Ornithology
"Marianne Taylor employs her knowledge, humour and substantial experience into something expansive and multifaceted."---Paul Meadows, British Naturalists Association
"An informative and pleasing read for whoever wants to learn about birds’ different forms of social life."---Gabriel Marcacci, Community Ecology
"[An] eclectic, well-written, visually pleasing book."---J.C. Kricher, CHOICE
"This book presents a great summary of how birds have learned to co-exist in close proximity, and how they cope with the stresses that such contact can bring. It is a great example of how to deliver interesting facts in an approachable way."---Keith Betton, IBIS Book Reviews
"An informative and pleasing read."---Gabriel Marcacci, Community Ecology
"This book is perhaps stronger on individual examples . . . those examples are interesting and diverse, covering all the continents and a wide variety of bird species. Like all Princeton University Press books, it is illustrated with dozens of beautiful coloured photographs as well as appropriate maps and other illustrations."---Tony Payne, The Glasgow Naturalist
ISBN: 9780691231907
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
224 pages